Princess Omolola Adewoyin: Preserving Yoruba Culture, Rebranding Traditional Ceremonies

These days, couples try to find ground-breaking ways to blend old traditions with modernity in a way their guests would appreciate. But this isn’t entirely in their hands to deliver. They have to trust the Alaga Iduro and Alaga Ijoko who are generally referred to as Alaga, to do a great job.  The Alaga is the Yoruba traditional compere who plays a major part in coordinating traditional marriage proceedings. She is a professional custodian of the Yoruba marriage tradition, who through years of hard work and innovation defines and improves how marriages begin.

Princess Omolola Adewoyin, a journalist for many years, turned Alaga has been doing this for decades. She talks about the intrigues and excitement involved in the trade of adding pomp and pageantry to traditional marriages and the joy she derives in carrying out her duty in this interview with MARY NNAH

What do you do presently?

I have been a journalist all my life. At a point, I ventured into training consultancy. I spent five years there and later moved on to another thing entirely and for five years now I have been a professional  Yoruba traditional wedding compere, what is popularly called “Alaga Iduro” and “Alaga Ijoko”,  in Yoruba language. That is what I do now to earn a living.

Tell us how your journey into the business of “Alaga” started.

I finished school in 1993 and went for service. I completed service in 1995. So while waiting for employment and could not get it, I didn’t want to stay idle and while busy looking for what I could be doing, somebody invited me to a wedding and there I saw the Alaga and what she was doing. From there I started telling people that I can do Alaga. Fortunately for me, one woman believed in me and invited me to compere her son’s traditional marriage.  I didn’t know what to do even when I had already told them that I am an Alaga. But I was very lucky because my elder sister does Alaga but not professionally, she does it for members of her husband’s family whenever they want to marry a wife. So, I quickly travelled to Abeokuta to meet with her, I asked her so many questions on what to do and how to do them as an Alaga. She gave me over 30 minutes’ tutelage and that is what I have been building on up till now.

How was your first experience as Alaga?

It was like my heart would jump out through my mouth. I was so scared. The ‘Alaga Ijoko’ was very experienced and I was scared she might ask me questions I would not be able to answer.  But at the end of the day, I did well. In fact, the family I represented was so impressed and since then there has been no looking back.

What is the difference between the “Alaga Iduro” and “Alaga Ijoko”?

The Alaga Iduro is the compere that represents the groom’s family while the “Alaga Ikojo” represents the bride’s family. So sometimes I do either of those or I do them together. Some families prefer that one compere is hired to represent both families.

How long have you been doing this professionally?

As a side hustle, I have been doing it for 22 years now but professionally it’s about five years, although I have always been in it. When I went for my Masters, I was still in it.  When I went for Diploma in Development Journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, my team members held send forth for me at home, and immediately I came back, I continued. So, it has always been a side hustle because it’s a weekend job.

What is it like to be an Alaga? What does it take?

It is like practicing any other profession. Like journalism which has been my life, I can compare this to it. You have passion for something, you enjoy doing it and at the end of the day you get paid for it. So I am so passionate about it. I am always happy doing it. I love dancing and singing; I love dressing beautifully. I am really very happy with it.

For an Alaga to do a great job, she requires great attention to detail, first to understand what a couple wants and to find appropriate ways to blend it with what customs demand. She’s trendy, yet humble enough to ensure that as much as attention is focused on her, she always guides the flow of the conversation during the ceremony back to the couple.

Being a good Alaga, takes more than the ability to talk, dance or sing or be well dressed. It takes a lot of emotional intelligence for you to be able to know what to say, how to say it where, and when to say it. It is very important for you to know when you should continue singing and when you should stop; when for you to elongate the event and when to shorten it.

What’s the most challenging job you have done in this field?

That should be when I just started. Like the very first job I did, that I said my heart was palpitating since then nothing of such.

How important is the job of an Alaga to a Yoruba traditional marriage?

It is very important. It is as important as the “Eru iyawo” (bride price list or dowry list). It is one thing to have money to buy items agreed upon for the groom to buy for the bride’s family and it is another thing for them to be well presented. If you don’t have a capable Alaga, the value of what you have spent, your cost may not really show. It is the Alaga that will present your family and also answer the questions from the Alaga Ijoko (compare for the bride’s family).

Alaga is something that has come to stay in the Yoruba tradition. It is the Alaga that adds pomp and pageantry to the Yoruba traditional wedding, especially if you are able to get an Alaga that knows her onions.

Alaga is a tradition that has been on the ground. How would you compare what is done today to what was done at a Yoruba wedding?

They are incomparable.  When I got married, for instance, the pomp and pageantry weren’t there. My Alaga didn’t even come with a drummer, she only came, ask the Alaga Iduro questions, she answered and then presented what my husband’s family brought and that was it but now there are lots of celebration attached to it.

On a normal day, what does it entails for you to have a successful outing?

First is my standard drummer and then a lot of rehearsals. The first step is to find out information about the family I am representing – the family background and all specialties about them. This information makes the job easier and more interesting for me and more appreciative by the family I represent.

Which is the most memorable function you have compered so far?

There is a spectacular one. Last year I started a second-generation wedding for a particular family. I was the compere for all their first generation, the last year I started with the second generation. I was the compere for the mother of the groom and last year the groom got married and I was also the compere. In fact, it was very remarkable and memorable for me.

What does it take to hire you?

I have a fee I charge and it is very affordable. One good thing is that I don’t say no to my client. Sometimes I even ask them what they can afford – you know, the joy is in going there, representing them and doing it so well as it is expected. Not all Alaga is able to do this job. It saddens my heart when an Alaga who does not know the job is invited and at the end of the day destroys a memorable event. So, I won’t allow that to happen. As long as they get in touch with me, I won’t turn any client down.

How large is your scope of operation? I mean how far can you go geographically to do this job?

Since it became my only hustle in the last five years, I can travel as far as possible. I can go to any part of Nigeria and even any part of the world.

Like every other profession, there are competitors, what makes you stand out?

I speak good English. And I speak good Yoruba too. If you are not able to master the art of speaking, for instance, you will say some things that you were not supposed to say at a point in time and that might cause trouble. So I have mastered the usage of the English Language and Yoruba Language. I am also conversant with the Koran and Bible. Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, I will represent you properly and you will be proud that you have not wasted your money on this Alaga.

Tell us a bit about your journey as a journalist.

Getting into journalism wasn’t a mistake for me. I set out from the world go to be a journalist. I read Mass Communication up to the HND level at Ogun State Polytechnic, now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic.  Later I went to the Indian Institute of Mass Communication for a Diploma in Development Journalism. 

When I came back from India, I went to the University of Ibadan for my Masters in Communication and Language Art, which are about communication and also all related to Journalism. Even the Alaga job that I have found myself in now is all about communication – knowing what to say when to say it, and how to say it. I spoke about emotional intelligence earlier; it also includes how you dress. For instance, if I am invited to an event, I try to find out the financial capability of my client, so that I am not overdressed or underdressed for the occasion and God has been helping.

Now, talking about my journey in journalism, I started with Comet Newspapers. I spent three years with the Comet and from there I moved to THISDAY Newspapers, where I spent nine years. I left as the Chief Sub-editor. After that, I have been doing a bit of freelancing for people. You know you cannot leave journalism entirely and journalism doesn’t ever leave you. I tell people that I have been a journalist all my life and I am going to die a journalist.

Was your break away from core journalism your choice?

To be frank with you, I got a better offer then. The job came with an official car and a driver attached while in journalism I drove my personal car. And the salary was much higher than what journalism paid me. But I have never left journalism; I have always been in its corridors while I have now launched fully into my Alaga brand, Iyawodunloshingin. It means marriage is sweet when you are young.  Oshingin means fresh and young, it is good when you are young but that doesn’t mean you cannot marry when you are older.

What vision do you have for your brand, Iyawodunloshingin?

I see the brand as being known all over Nigeria and the world. There are Nigerians all over the world and they get married. So I see the brand representing families all over the world – wherever Yoruba traditional wedding is being conducted. And I am grooming a group of young people to take over in the future because I know I will not be this strong in years to come.

I also have a partner, Deaconess Bolanle Ajayi, who is also in the same age bracket and we are most likely to retire at the same time. She retired from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics more than 10 years ago, she was a secretary in the organisation for 35 years and we have been running this together.

But I have my younger daughter; she studied Mass Communication too at the University of Lagos. She is expecting to go for National Youth Service any time from now and she is already an Alaga. Her own brand is an offshoot of Iyawodunloshingin. She is Tide Alaga. That is the future.

What advice do you have for young people who want to toe this line?

The motive shouldn’t be money. What attracts you to being Alaga shouldn’t be the pomp and pageantry; first passion and then emotional intelligence. Learn the ropes; be emotionally intelligent because the best you can get is just one representation, so if you go there and mess up, they won’t call you again. And words of mouth spread faster than where your legs can reach.  They should respect elders and learn from elders. There is no limitation in age, anybody can do it but you must have the passion for it first and then the money will start coming. I have trained many young people in the past 10 years and many of them are now on their own. They have spread all over and are enjoying this job.